#development

UWW educational activities prior to the Southeast Asian Games

Wednesday, May 11, 2022 - 23:58 By United World Wrestling Press

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HANOI, Vietnam (May 11) -- With the support of the Olympic Solidarity and the Vietnam National Olympic Committee, technical courses for coaches and referees were organized by United World Wrestling for the Southeast Asian countries prior to the South East Asian Games from May 7 to 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A total of 55 coaches and referees from Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended the training. Out of the 30 referees that attended the training course, 18 referees training will officiate at the SEA Games and obtain international refereeing licenses.

An anti-doping workshop was also delivered to the participating coaches by the Vietnam Anti-Doping & Sports Medicine Center on May 10. General anti-doping rules, rights & responsibilities of athletes & coaches, testing procedures, Therapeutic Use Exemptions and clean sports values and ethics were included in this workshop.

DopingThe Vietnam Anti-Doping & Sports Medicine Center present their course on anti-doping rules and ethics to 25 coaches.

"This is a great start for Southeast Asian countries after such a long time of no activity and sporting opportunities in the last two years," Deqa NIAMKEY, UWW Development Director, said. "The SEA Games allowed our smaller national federations to make a strong appearance on the international stage, and the training courses UWW organized prior to the Games help ensure that the wrestling competitions are conducted in a safe and fair manner.

"UWW thrives to provide the best possible training and education opportunities for the development of coaches and referees worldwide."

As part of its commitment to drive global wrestling development and further strengthen and enhance the communication with member federations, UWW has announced a new Regional Development Program to help support wrestling development activities across regions at beginning of the year.

This program contributes to a coherent development strategy and offers hands-on local support and assistance to benefit wrestling growth in countries that are relatively less developed in the sport of wrestling.

Through this flagship development program, UWW is continuing to provide tailored support to its member federations and making a real and lasting impact in driving the development of wrestling around the world.

The training courses prior to the SEA Games set another important milestone for UWW and marked a start of a series of wrestling development programs and projects in the region. Positive feedback was received from the participating nations, and many countries have already expressed their interest in hosting the 2023 UWW Southeast Asia Development Program.

"The training courses for coaches and referees are extremely important and beneficial for the development of wrestling in Vietnam and the whole Southeast Asia region," Manh Van TRAN, the Secretary-General of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, said.

"We have supported a coaching course via Olympic Solidarity back in 2017, and we hope to continue our successful collocation with UWW to grow wrestling in Vietnam," he said.

Lee Jiwoo_Ref course_VIE

"I’m a young coach from Indonesia and I am very happy that UWW offered this chance to further enhance my knowledge of wrestling in both coaching and refereeing," Purnama SURYA, a coach from Indoesia, said. "I attended both training courses, and had great experience learning from renowned international experts in the field. A big thank you to UWW."

#WrestleBratislava

Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 13:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 22) -- Khadzhimurat GATSALOV was in Bratislava, Slovakia for the European Championships as the coach if the UWW wrestlers and returned with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in 10 weight classes.

United World Wrestling caught up with Gatsalov after the tournament and he reflected on the performance of the wrestlers and his plans for the World Championships which will be held in September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Excerpts:

- On the performance of his wrestlers

Gatsalov: Overall, we are satisfied with the results. We haven’t had a performance like this in a long time -- five gold medals out of ten, plus two silver and one bronze. That means eight out of ten athletes came home with medals. Both the coaching staff and the athletes did a great job and prepared well for this European Championships.

We were counting on four or five gold medals. The guys wrestled really well and followed the instructions. For us coaches, that’s the most important thing that the wrestler steps on the mat and follows the game plan.

- On competition with Iran and the United States

Gatsalov: I believe there’s still room for improvement. This will help strengthen both our technical and physical foundations. When I look at Iranian and American wrestling, they put a lot of emphasis on physical conditioning. We’ve never really focused on that. We’ve always prioritized technique. But moving forward, we’ll also be physically prepared to endure tough matches and handle heavy loads without wearing out.

- On Sidakov's return and performance at 74kg

Gatsalov: Sidakov just couldn’t make it happen this time, maybe it’s because they know each other so well. [Chermen] VALIEV had a very strong motivation to win. You could feel it, it was clear on the mat. But as a coach, I believe this loss will serve as a driving force for Sidakov's future wins. It’s a significant psychological moment. Honestly, it’s better to experience this now than at the World Championships or the Olympics. I think once he recovers from his injury, we’ll get back to training and keep moving forward.

- On former world champion Baev winning gold

Gatsalov: Since 2019, he hadn’t shown any results on an international level. But today, he was better than anyone. He’s been working towards this moment for a long time, training hard, and he showed solid, confident wrestling. He wrestled like a true master — precise, and without mistakes. We were genuinely very happy for him.

- On the 65kg champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV

Gatsalov: Ibragimov demonstrated a strong performance, despite losing at the Ranking Series in Albania less than a month ago. Today, he came in well-prepared. He was in good form physically, technically, and mentally. That previous loss likely became a stepping stone toward this victory.

Khadzhimurat GATSAKOVKhadzhimurat GATSALOV at the European Championships in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

- On preparations for World Championships

Gatsalov: We have a clear understanding of how we’re going to prepare. I can’t reveal all the secrets of our training plan, but we know exactly who we’re preparing for. That’s why we’ll be focusing on targeted, individual work against specific opponents. Our coaching staff is strong. We have real professionals on board, including experienced coaches from the old Soviet school and younger ones who are stepping up and bringing fresh energy.

I think our wrestlers are also friendly with each other, which is very important. The atmosphere in the team is productive. We are waiting for the World Championships. We want competition on the mat with big countries like Iran, America. The Japanese have also improved a lot. Therefore, we want to compete with the strong ones, and we want to settle things on the mat.

(The interview was conducted by Karina MIRZOIAN)